Rhetorical Synthesis Essay

In both speeches written by each Lincoln and Obama, all three rhetorical appeals were used. Lincoln and Obama used logos, pathos, and ethos to keep their audience engaged with their speech. Both speeches had an impact on the audiences in different ways. By using these appeals, Lincoln and Obama kept the attention of the audience. Though ethos, pathos, and logos were used by both speakers, Obama presented them in a way that was a little more effective on the audience.. Obama states, “We honor the courage of those who put themselves in harm's way to save the people they never knew.” This statement demonstrated ethos by giving credibility to those who fought for people they didn’t even know. This sentence also shows relatability because it relates to the audience. By saying “People they didn’t even know”, he is referring to america as a whole, so the audience can relate to whom the speaker is talking about. Lincoln says, “Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent.” Lincoln’s use of ethos was more vague than Obama’s. Though using the …show more content…
Obama says,”We remember, and we will never forget, the nearly 3,000 beautiful lives taken from us so cruelly - including 184 men, women and children here, the youngest just three years old.” Obama uses logos in this by giving real heartbreaking facts, and the effect of the disaster. By giving exact numbers, it makes his speech more appealing to the audience rather than if he were to just say a few women or a lot of men. In Lincoln’s speech he states,”The brave men, living and dead,who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” Lincoln gives a real example to the audience by saying “brave men, living and dead”. He also uses cause and effect by talking about the struggle of the men who have fought. Lincoln did use logos to appeal to the audience, but not as strongly as Obama